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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Bilow who wrote (101498)	6/13/2003 11:23:59 PM
From: Win Smith	Respond to of 281500

Aside from which, the Hashemites were more or less installed in Jordan by the British. And who knows, the British might even have been able to pull off something similar in modern Iraq, if they had any remnants of their historical skills at hand. Though even the British failed there the first time around. Comparing the British in their classic efficient empire mode, where they always managed to find or train few people who really understood the local culture to manage things, to the PNAC people and their extensive cultural expertise gained from Bernard Lewis bloviations, is quite sad for the US. Calling the PNAC people latter day Lawrences is insulting to Lawrence, so I better not do that anymore.

To: Bilow who wrote (101498)	6/14/2003 12:12:26 AM
From: Hawkmoon	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

You don't have the slightest bit of evidence as to what the Palestinians felt when the Hashemites came in. That's because there was no such thing as a Palestinian. The entire concept of such a "nationality" only derives from recent history. They have no history of a distinctive culture, language, or religion.. They are a mish-mash of various occupants who just happened to have settled in a geographic area. Yes, I think they did. Freedom is the eternal watchword of human desire. It's universal. Gee.. that's what I've been arguing for months now.. (Which is why I believe the US is right in doing away with Saddam.) But I hardly see how substituting one form of foreign "tyranny" for a domestic one, such as Arafat's, will fulfill that desire for freedom. And while at a human level you and I might believe that desire for freedom, political and personal, might exist in the hearts of all men (and women). But for others, such as fundamentalist Muslims, their ultimate freedom is slavery to Allah. They care nothing for democracy, or political accountability. They will listen to those religious leaders they perceive best represent their particular level of militant intensity and seek to force the rest of the world to submit. After all, the meaning of Islam is submission. Hawk